Taiwan’s Tech Giants Pull Back from China Amid Rising Cyber Threats and Security Fears
Taiwan's semiconductor and electronics heavyweights are slashing exposure to Chinese markets—and Beijing's digital claws are to blame.
Why the sudden pivot? A cocktail of state-sponsored hacking attempts, IP theft paranoia, and good old-fashioned geopolitical tension. These firms aren't just diversifying supply chains—they're executing a full-scale digital decoupling.
Behind the firewall: Execs whisper about CCP-linked cyber units targeting R&D hubs, while 'patriotic hackers' flood Taiwanese networks with suspiciously well-timed outages. Meanwhile, China's Ministry of State Security keeps 'inviting' engineers for tea—the kind where you discuss trade secrets or disappear.
The irony? This tech exodus hits just as China's digital yuan flounders—another 'surefire win' for centralized crypto that investors should've dumped like a hot 996 work schedule.
Chinese cyber threats targeted Taiwan’s chip sector
At the same time, Reuters reported, researchers at Proofpoint cautioned on Wednesday that China‑aligned hacking groups have intensified campaigns to infiltrate Taiwan’s semiconductor sector and the analysts who cover it.
“We’ve seen entities that we hadn’t ever seen being targeted in the past being targeted,” said Mark Kelly, a threat researcher specializing in China‑related cyber operations.
Proofpoint traced at least three separate China‑linked groups running campaigns between March and June, and warned some may still be active.
These attacks happened as the U.S. tightened limits on American‑designed chips going to China, and as China scrambled to replace its shrinking stock of advanced U.S. parts, especially for AI.
Although they declined to name specific victims, the analysts told Reuters that roughly 15–20 organizations, including small local suppliers, banking analysts in the U.S., and large multinationals, had been targeted.
Major Taiwanese foundries such as TSMC, MediaTek, UMC, Nanya Technology, and RealTek were contacted. It remains unknown whether any breaches succeeded.
In May, Taiwan’s AI exports jumped 38.6% year‑on‑year to $51.74 billion. That was the fastest pace in nearly 15 years and the first time exports exceeded $50 billion, the finance ministry said.
Exports rose for the 19th month in a row, beating the 25% increase economists expected and April’s 29.9% rise. Companies like TSMC, the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, supply Nvidia, Apple and other major tech firms.
The ministry said strong AI demand and buyers ordering early to avoid possible U.S. tariffs helped boost May exports.
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